Heavy clashes in Syria near Lebanon border

06:31 PM April 20th, 2013

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April 20th, 2013 06:31 PM

In this image taken from video obtained from the Shaam News Network, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, a Syrian military tank shells a neighborhood in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, March 28, 2013. AP file photo

BEIRUT—Syria’s state-run media and opposition activists are reporting heavy clashes in the strategic central province of Homs near the border with Lebanon.

The SANA news agency says four key villages — Qadesh, Mansourieh, Saadiyeh and Radwaniyeh — have fallen under government control on Saturday. The villages are close to the contested town of Qusair.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says there are casualties on both sides in the fighting in the area, which has been engulfed in clashes for the past two weeks.

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Regime troops last week captured a hill overlooking several towns in the area and the highway linking the capital, Damascus, with the Mediterranean coast.

On Thursday, government forces captured a town in the province and rebels seized a military base in the area.